I received a
number of good books for my birthday, and the first one I went to, in
preparation for Veterans’ Day, was No Greater Glory: The Four Immortal Chaplains
and the Sinking of the Dorchester in World War II by Dan Kurzman.
This is a truly fascinating
book. It is largely focused on telling
the tale of the Four (Army) Chaplains who gave their lives when the troop carrier SS Dorchester
was sunk on its way to Greenland in the early hours of February 3, 1943. These four brave men were George L. Fox
(Methodist), Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Clark V. Poling (Dutch Reformed), and
Fr. John P. Washington. I really appreciated
how the author gave background for each of them and how they each in their own
way worked to bring together those of different faiths by focusing on a good
and loving God. This was true in their
lives, their preaching, and in their service.
As the ship was sinking, each of them gave their life preservers to
someone in need, and encouraged those who were scared to jump into the ocean (it
was, after all, a troop carrier, so most of the men were in the Army not the
Navy or Coast Guard). The last time they
were seen, as the ship plunged into the water, they were joined together,
praying. They were a true witness of
faith and unity to men in a desperate situation. Of the 900 men on board, only about 230 survived
the sinking.
The author also does a good job of
conveying the terrible situation of the sinking (literally freezing cold water). He also touches on the questionable, to say
the least, decision by the commanding officer of the escort ships not to search
for survivors until it was too late for most of the men in the water. This is contrasted with the heroic, and
humane, decision of the commander of the Coast Guard cutter Comanche to
defy orders and rescue almost 100 men when we was supposed to be patrolling for
the U-boat that was long gone.
Overall, it is an inspiring and thoroughly
human story. In the end, the big
question left with the reader is: how would I have acted in that situation?
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